Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2016, 4, 1-11 Published Online June 2016 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2016.46001 How to cite this paper: Sirima, A. (2016) The Social and Economic Impacts of Ruaha National Park Expansion. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2016.46001 The Social and Economic Impacts of Ruaha National Park Expansion Agnes Sirima Department of Wildlife Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania Received 5 May 2016; accepted 30 May 2016; published 2 June 2016 Copyright © 2016 by author and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Displacement of people to allow expansion of protected areas involves removing people from their ancestral land or excluding people from undertaking livelihood activities in their usual areas. The approach perpetuates the human-nature dichotomy, where protected areas are regarded as pristine lands that need to be separated from human activities. Beyond material loss, displaced communities suffer loss of symbolic representation and identity that is attached to the place. The aim of this paper was to assess impacts of Ruaha National Park expansions to the adjoining com- munities. Five villages were surveyed: Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango. All participants were victims of the eviction to expand the park borders. Based on the conceptual analysis, major themes generated were: loss of access to livelihood resources, change in resource ownership, conservation costs, resource use conflict, place identity, and the role of power. Similar to previous studies, results show that local communities suffered both symbolic and material loss as a result of park expansion. Furthermore, it has shown that conflicts related to land use changes have roots within (pastoralist vs. farmers; Sangu vs. Sukuma) as well as from the outside. Hence, to better understand resource access and ownership, a deeper understanding of community charac- teristics/composition and their local interaction is important. Further, park expansion needs to take into consideration human livelihood need. Keywords Conservation, Displacement, Ruaha National Park, Protected Area 1. Introduction Conservation organizations at national, regional and international level are pushing for expansion of protected areas to serve as the last remaining ecosystem on earth [1]. A notable expansion of protected areas has been re- corded between 1911 and 2011 where the number of protected areas increased from 153 to over 157 thousands